![]() What makes the tanto so great at piercing is that geometric tip, where the tanto blade is typically very thin yet incredibly strong and durable, allowing it to pierce much deeper with less effort than your regular drop point or many of the other popular blade shapes. They aren’t wrong, although I imagine that a very small amount of people that buy these, especially in a folding knife, actually require a hefty piercing-capable blade. Speaking of piercing capability, Cold Steel and their excellent marketing department really pounded home the idea of the Americanized tanto being an excellent piercing capable blade shape. The second edge between the secondary point and the handle makes for a really good cutting and slicing surface which is almost as utilitarian as the drop point or clip point. I know, the tanto is usually talked about in terms of combat and its excellent capability to be violent in a piercing mannerism, but in all honestly, I really feel like the tanto is used more to open things up with precision than anything else for your average everyday knife user. For example, that front edge between the two points actually makes for an excellent box and letter opener. In operation, the edges typically have two different uses. Here’s a video guide for sharpening a tanto blade. When sharpening the Americanized tanto, one would sharpen both the edge between the two points and the edge between the secondary point and the handle separately as to avoid rounding off that secondary point. Does this count as a double-edged blade? Well, that depends on your lawmakers, but to most people in the knife industry, technically no, but also yes. Yes, this means the Americanized tanto actually has two points and two edges, even if the spine isn’t sharpened. If you’d like to check out a Westernized tanto being made here. The spine of the blade is typically flat or very close to being flat and, from the handle, elegantly reaches out to that initial point. At this secondary point, the blade takes a harsh turn, sometimes even 45 degrees, and shoots back to the handle in a flat or near-flat manner. The American tanto has a primary point where the cutting surface immediately shoots down straight or very close to being straight, where there is a secondary point. It’s no wonder this blade shape has so many opinions surrounding it, as it often stands out when set next to most of the other blade shapes, and to be honest, many people would agree that it has this tacticool feel to its design in comparison with the boring old drop point. The Western version sometimes dubbed the American version or the “geometric tanto”, has a very edgy look and feel (no pun intended). The Tanto Blade Shape Explained (American Version) Now, one isn’t better than the other, but they do certainly have their own pros, cons, and use cases and it’s important to know the difference. It’s no surprise that the original knife enthusiast Americans that came across the Japanese tanto thought it was awesome but also thought it needed a bit of tweaking to fully encompass their vision of what a tanto should be. American Version vs Japanese Version of the Tanto BladeĪmerica has a long history of learning cool stuff from other countries and then, well, Americanizing it. Just like the grind, the actual steel composition of the blade will also dictate its performance across use cases, and as such, if you’d like to brush up on some of the most common knife steel types, refer to our blade steels guide here. If you’d like to learn more about the grind of a blade, check out our knife grinds guide here. Most of this guide will focus on the Americanized version of the tanto because that’s what is most popular among the western consumer market for both pocket knives and fixed blades and, honestly, because they’re dang cool and great blades to own.īefore we get into the nitty-gritty, it’s important to note that, just like all of the other blade shapes, the other factors of geometry apply here and will change how the blade behaves. By the end of this guide, you’ll know exactly what the tanto is, the differences between the original version of the tanto and the American version of the tanto, and finally, the use cases and performance of the tanto blade shape. The tanto shape, however, is much more than that. Many mistakingly see the tanto blade as a Japanese gimmick that has only one real use, piercing stuff better than some of the other blade shapes. It’s also one of our favorites here at Marine Approved, and by the end of this article, you’ll know exactly why. ![]() The tanto blade shape is without a doubt one of the most unique and misunderstood blade shapes. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a commission from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.
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